Prior Art teaches several methods of supporting the conveyor belt as it moves through the load zone and is being loaded, the most common approach is to utilize the same type of supporting rollers used on the rest of the belt except that they are spaced as close together as possible.
Another approach is to entirely replace the support rollers with a slider bed which utilizes low friction slider bars to replace all three of the rollers in a common troughing idler.
Another method of supporting the belt is the subject of the present invention, a combination of standard troughing rollers and a slider bed in which the center roller is retained and the wing or side rollers are replaced with a steel adapter that permits mounting of a low friction bar longitudinally to the direction of belt travel.
Archer U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,053 teaches the use of a replacement kit which utilizes an angle iron with a round pin that engages the slot where the wing roller was removed, to replace the belt support wing rollers. The individual troughing idlers are then tied together with an elongated C-shaped steel rail preferably the full length of the load zone which provides the support for a low friction bar for the belt to slide on. This arrangement can be very damaging to the belt if the relatively thin slider bar wears out and the belt comes into engagement with the elongated steel C-shaped support rail.